


So Sweet So Lonely

by hatebeat



Category: DEAD END - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-14
Updated: 2013-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-25 12:34:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/638963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hatebeat/pseuds/hatebeat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Middle school, circa 1976.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Sweet So Lonely

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2010.

Tadashi glared down at the world below him through the chain link fence surrounding the rooftop he was perched on the edge of. It was recess, but he snuck up here to be alone. Well, not completely alone. Looking out from the fence with him was his G.I. Joe. His name was just Joe, though. And he belonged to Tadashi's brother, technically. But that never stopped Tadashi from taking it.

Up here... he was completely separate from anyone else. Tadashi didn't get along well with people. Sometimes people said there was something wrong with him, but he knew that wasn't true. It was just that no one else was good enough.

Everyone else was down there, down below. Tadashi just watched them, a little annoyed. They were all so oblivious. It was disgusting. He felt a little strange about it, but he knew he was better off up here, anyway. 

Tadashi watched them until it was time to line up and go inside. Sometimes they noticed Tadashi wasn't there and sometimes he got in trouble. He didn't care that much, though. What could they do to him? His parents wouldn't care, either. He already had a big brother. They never needed two sons.

Everyone went inside, but Tadashi didn't move. They might come up here looking for him, but Tadashi didn't feel like going back to class. Maybe he'd just leave. He was considering it when he saw something weird. Some people hadn't gone in from recess? Tadashi wasn't the only one missing, then. He watched them, but...

What were they doing? Tadashi pulled back from the fence a bit, but he didn't stop watching, just ducked down...

There were three boys. Two of them looked older. High school aged? They were hurting the younger one. They hit him and knocked him down, and kicked him. One of them was holding him down. Tadashi got up. He didn't want to watch this. But...

But then the kid looked up, looked right at him. Or at least, at the roof... But he had to have seen him. Tadashi turned away. He should just go back to class. He hated everyone, right? But this... it wasn't this kid's fault. And Tadashi had been treated like this before, too.

He _wasn't_ a freak. He wasn't different.

Tadashi went inside and down the staircase, trying not to attract any attention. He managed to get out the back doors somehow, and outside. He could see them more closely now. That Ohtsuka kid. It figured... He looked different. He wasn't Japanese, at least not completely. Wasn't his fault, sure, but there was nothing he could do about it either way. Of course people were going to treat him differently.

Tadashi clutched at Joe and hesitantly walked closer to them. If _he_ were G.I. Joe, he could do something about this. Joe would care, too.

"Hey," he said, but they didn't even look up. Tadashi picked up a rock and threw it at them. He missed... that was probably for the best. One of the boys looked up, and said something to the other, pointing at Tadashi. Tadashi clenched his fist, the one that wasn't holding Joe, and he didn't move. He stayed and glared at them.

"Got a problem, kid? Why don't you go back to class where you belong?" the one that was holding Ohtsuka down sneered at him.

Tadashi was scared-- too scared to even speak, or so he thought. But he found himself saying, "Why don't you back off? That guy didn't do anything to you."

The big guy who was still standing laughed, and started to walk over to him. Tadashi didn't move, but only because he was too scared to. When the guy got close enough to touch him, Tadashi shut his eyes, cringing, and held Joe up in front of him. If Joe was real... If Joe was real, he'd protect him.

The high school guy didn't hit him, though. He grabbed Tadashi by the hair and laughed in his face.

"You think your little doll is going to rescue you, kid?" He turned to call back to his friend, "Hey, Mori. Come check this kid out. He thinks his doll is going to save him!"

"It's not a doll," Tadashi muttered.

The guy yanked on his hair. "What was that?" 

"I said it's not a doll!" Tadashi screamed at him, as loudly as he could. He obviously surprised the guy. He surprised himself, too. But more importantly, that other guy, the one called Mori, wasn't holding Ohtsuka down anymore.

Tadashi waited about ten seconds longer than he should have, and then he turned around and _ran_. Hopefully Ohtsuka had the sense to do the same because Tadashi wasn't going back for him. He kept running and didn't look back. He didn't go back into the school. He just kept running until he got home. His mother never asked too many questions and she was drunk half the time anyway, so he just went straight to his room and shut the door.

When he got in there, he finally stopped to catch his breath.

===

He didn't want to go to school the next day. Tadashi tried to stay in bed and hide under the blankets, but his dad came in and pulled him out of bed, made him get dressed, and drove him. Tadashi didn't say a word the whole time. He didn't like talking.

The homeroom teacher was mean to him about being late, but he didn't care that much. He didn't say anything back to her, and he sat in his seat all day without paying attention. At recess, he snuck back up to the roof, and started all over again.

Today, though, he didn't watch everyone else playing. He looked up at the sky. It wasn't particularly blue or sunny or anything. Just a plain, grey day.

There were sounds of laughing and stuff from down below, and occasionally one of the recess teachers would yell at someone, but Tadashi didn't listen to any of that. He could hear it, but he wasn't listening. But then there was another noise, so sudden, and so much closer. His heart pounded, but he realised it was the sound of the door opening up to the roof. Tadashi spun around, defensive...

It was that kid from yesterday. Ohtsuka.

Tadashi didn't talk. Just stared at him. He really did look kind of weird. There were rumours that he was from America, but that seemed stupid to Tadashi. His name was _Ohtsuka._ American people didn't have Japanese names like Ohtsuka. They all had family names like Smith or Williams or something.

Ohtsuka walked right up to him, but Tadashi didn't say anything still.

"Hey. You're the one from yesterday," Ohtsuka said after a moment. It wasn't a question, so it didn't need an answer, but Tadashi nodded. Ohtsuka didn't even have an accent or anything. Of course he wasn't American. People were stupid...

"You didn't have to do that," he told Tadashi.

"Yeah. I know."

It was quiet for a minute. Ohtsuka had two big bruises on his face. He got away when Tadashi ran, right?

"Well... Thanks," Ohtsuka said, very honestly, and then he bowed... it was just a little bow, but it still _was_ one. That was... nice.

Tadashi nodded, acknowledging it.

"I'm Ohtsuka Motoyuki. Some people call me Morrie, though... Who are you?"

Tadashi didn't know what to say. It wasn't like he needed any friends. Other people... they were no good. Disgusting. And what kind of name was Morrie? No wonder he got himself into trouble.

"I'm... I'm Joe."


End file.
